NCJ Number
228068
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2009 Pages: 205-218
Date Published
July 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper evaluates the adaptation of the women's safety audit around the world, particularly in low-income countries.
Abstract
Developed, in Canada, by Toronto's Metro Action Committee on Public Violence Against Women and Children in 1989, research has defined women's safety audits as a process which brings individuals together to walk through a physical environment, evaluate how safe it feels to them, identify ways to make the space safer and organize to bring about these chances. The women's safety audit tool has been disseminated to different regions around the world. Women's safety audits raise conceptual questions and introduce practical tools for interventions in communities. This paper evaluated the use that has been made of women's safety audits across the world; its applications, outcomes and challenges of the methodology. It was found that the audit was adaptable to local contexts, could be effective for bringing about environmental changes, empowering women, and alerting the public and authorities to the shared responsibility for ensuring the safety of women. Table, note, and references